An organic light emitting diode (OLED) is typically configured such that an organic thin film layer, which is an organic light emitting layer, is disposed between an anode layer and a cathode layer on a wafer, and has a very thin matrix form.
Such an organic light emitting diode is advantageous in that it is thin and it can be driven at a low voltage. Further, the organic light emitting diode is advantageous in that it can solve the problems of conventional LCDs, such as a narrow viewing angle, a slow response speed and the like, in that it can produce image quality that is equal to or better than that of different types of displays, particularly, small-size or medium-size displays such as TFT LCDs and the like, and in that it can be manufactured by a simple process. Therefore, the organic light emitting diode is receiving considerable attention as a next-generation flat panel display.
However, an organic light emitting diode used for illumination must emit light uniformly in a large area. Therefore, it is required to make a large-area light emitting device without forming pixels, and the large-area light emitting device may have one or more light emitting regions.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional OLED device.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional OLED device includes: a substrate 10; and an anode layer 20, an organic layer 30 and a cathode layer 40 sequentially disposed on the substrate. In the conventional OLED device, when a voltage is applied between the anode layer 20 and the cathode layer 40, an energy difference is induced in the organic layer 30, thus allowing the organic layer to emit light. That is, the excited energy produced by the recombination of electrons and holes injected into the organic layer 30 is converted into light.
Further, the organic layer 30 is weak to moisture and oxygen in the air. Therefore, the conventional OLED device is provided at the uppermost portion thereof with a sealing layer 50 in order to increase the lifespan thereof.
However, the conventional OLED device is problematic in that an anode wire 21 and a cathode wire 41 are drawn out to the lateral side thereof, not the rear side thereof, so an additional wire for connecting the lateral side of the OLED device to a drive system for illumination must be provided in order to use a plurality of OLED devices for illumination, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost thereof.